With the recent death of actor Don Knotts I rememer my favorite movie he starred in, The Incredible Mr. Limpet. I loved this movie as a kid and still enjoy it's goofy premise: Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.

As stupid as this movie was, it showed how Henry was able to rise to the occasion, fight his personal shortcomings and help the war effort.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

I made it back in the pool today still suffering from a painful hip flexor. Saturday I was on the bike trainer for one hour then tried to run. The run only lasted 10 minutes since my glute and hamstring were still tight. So I tried to rest the leg and got some stuff done around the house. Aimee and I went to a neighbors house for a small party Saturday night, more to come on that later.

We slept in which was nice since we were out 'til midnight. So I ate some breakfast and headed to the Y for lap swim.

I felt rested and eager to get going. I think I had given my left arm enough rest from it's strain so I wanted to see how far it would go.

Boy did things flow. I was feeling strong and fast, first 100 yards 1:30. That was fast, back it off. But backing it off was still pretty fast. My 100 yard splits were never above 1:40, with most being around 1:35. My 1000 yard splits were 15:58, 16:04 and 15:46. So I did 3000 yards in 47:48, I was stoked. Finished that up with 200 yards cooldown.

Boy did that set me up for a good remainder of the day. At least my swim is on target and the bike is solid. Now I just need to get this hip under control and ready for the Shamrock Marathon March 19th. Two visits to Dr. Zak this week to help get it under control.

Friday, February 24, 2006

This edition of FFF introduces my son Andrew. A freshman in college he has been doing well this first year with no major problems, at least none that have required my intervention. As a student of the College of Health and Human Services he is studying for a degree in Pre Physical Therapy. The major program is an additional three years for a doctorate degree.

Andrew ran cross country and track in high school which I enjoyed as much as he did. Once high school was done so was his running career, for now. His extra curricular activities now include beer pong and frequent visits from his girlfriend, oh the joys of college freedom.I visited him for Dad's Weekend in January. We attended a basketball game, saw comedian Jeff Garlin, played beer pong and raquetball (not at the same time) and generally had a good time.

It's been fun watching him grow up and mature and look forward to what the future holds for him. I'm hoping he will be able to make it out to IM USA to watch me finish and possibly cross the finish line with me. He wants to work alot this summer and I will not force him to come out, he says he want to though.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Sounds like a elementary school art class but that was actually what my Wednesday was all about.

Recap: Saturdays long run left me with a numb right leg and sore hip. This was during the last 30 minutes of my two hour run. The prior weeks two hour run was perfect. Being only four weeks out from the Shamrock Marathon I had to do something. My coach recommended seeing Dr. Zak to see what he could do to help.

I made an appointment with Dr. Tom Zak who is an ART Chiropractor. ART (Active Release Technique) uses a combination of specific pressure applied to the muscle while to patient/athlete performs a specific movement of the arm/leg/whatever that is part of the muscle being treated.

The first session was an evaluation/treatment. We talked about what was going on, what he thought was the problem, how the muscles are weakened and what he can do to help. He watched me run back and forth a couple of times and noticed a slight drag of my right leg, like I wasn't getting a full push from it since it was weak.During his explanation of the muscles he used the example of rubber bands to describe the muscles. They lengthen and contract as we walk/run/bike/etc. Muscles should be nice and relaxed like a rubber band just sitting on the table. But over time the muscles experience small tears during exercise, especially during heavy training, and those tears cause scarring. If not treated the muscle fibers start to bind together and you start to feel the stiffness in the muscles. The binding together of the muscles he likened to pouring Elmers Glue on the rubber bands. The muscle fibers clump together and don't move as nicely. He also used comparisons like rough rope and bumpy stiff leather but I couldn't find any good pictures of that.

So after taking vitals and watching me run I got on the table. No massage therapists and chiropractors and any medical person amaze me with their knowledge of what is under the skin. Dr. Zak was digging his fingers deep into my body to apply the right pressure on the specific muscle he was working on. When he had a good feel for the muscle I then moved my leg, since that was what we were working on, as he told me. The idea is the I lengthen the muscle and it glides under the pressure he is applying. Kind of smoothing out the rough patches in the muscle. The way the quad comes up and attaches, he had his finger deep under my hip to find the connecting point.

On the backside he explained the reason for my numbness in the leg. The top of the hamstring attaches just under the glute and was inflamed. The inflamation was blocking a major artery that feeds the leg. It was also "pinching" a major nerve into the leg. Made sense and when he went to release it he found a tender spot right where he expected to find it.

This wa only one session. I have two next week that should help more. In the meantime I will be stretching and taking some downtime. I have a long run on Saturday that I will be cautious on and not push it. I'm going to stay close to home so that when the first sign of trouble appears I'm not far from home.

Move updates to follow next week.

Today I did manage to get some training in. My left arm was feeling okay to I decided to swim long and steady. 3000 yards was the goal. I managed 2400 before the arm told me to stop, and I did immediately so as not to make it worse. I was happy with holding a 1:45 pace the entire time and not feeling tired in the least.

For the evening I did one hour on the trainer in Zone 2 and felt great. The hip wasn't bothered by the high cadence, 90 - 100, and it was good to get a complete workout in for once.

Rest day tomorrow, except for stretching, then we will see what happens for the weekend.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Bold has Who Knew Wednesday (WKW) and I'm doing Two for Tuesday. Little tidbits I'll share from all corners of the world.

HFP Racing:Inside Triathlon has posted an awesome article on their website featuring HFP Racing. HFP is the premier race management team in Ohio and surrounding states. They had several races featured in the Inside Tri race edition, including the Spirit of Racine HIM, MedExpress HIM, Desoto Triple-T. The management team not only knows triathlon but often race in their own events. I did their Wheelie Fun tri/du series and took 2nd in my age group. If you have the opportunity to participate in one of their events I would encourage you to do it. Scott Erdman is very active in the Cleveland Tri Club this year bringing equipment to help run the indoor tri races.

Winter Olympics:I get Frazz in my e-mail every morning. This comic is a must read for all triathletes, cyclists, and those young at heart. Today and yesterday Frazz has summed up my feelings for the Winter Olympics.

I love the cross country skiing and biathlon. Those sports are about as close as we get to running, I like the speed skating also. Where else do you see these athletes putting everything on the line and collapsing after crossing the finish line. The ability to control your breathing and heart rate during the biathlon shooting is amazing. I do not discount the athletic ability of any other athlete at the Winter Olympics but I can truly relate with the nordic skiers.

Monday, February 20, 2006

One weekend, two "injuries". A man barely able to train. We have the technology.

I feel like I need to be rebuilt like Steve Austin. On my long run the right leg seized up and the hip area was tender that night. Hip flexor? ITBS? Hopefully not serious.

After the swim clinic Sunday morning my left arm felt strained. The stroke recovery is what hurt the most. So I skipped my long swim this morning, would my bionic parts be waterproof? So maybe Al and I can get a discount rate at the Cleveland Clinic. Al can get a new heart instead of running through a battery of tests and I can replace my faulty 39 year old hip and shoulder, at least the muscles.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

That is the only way to describe the people I know or saw training this weekend. With temperatures in the teens, single digits overnight, I saw some hardcore people out there running, warriors come out to plaaaaayyyyyyyyy.

On Saturday Aimee and I met my coach and her husband for our long runs. The car temp was showing around 11 degrees. I had 2:15 to do so Scott kept me company for 90 minutes. What an awesome run. We are both doing IM USA and he has 6 IMs under his belt, including Lake Placid twice. He has a wealth of information to share with me and is excited about my first IM. We hit the trails I did last weekend in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It was so nice and we were protected from the slight wind by the trees. We made it back to the parking lot right at 90 minutes and I continued on to finish. Unfortunately I should have stopped with Scott. I only lasted another 30 minutes because my right leg started to cramp up on me. It's been tight for a while but this time it was bad. I don't think it was any of the trails we ran but it was hurting. Later in the evening my hip flexor was sore, I may have a touchy ITBS. Getting it checked early this week.

All said and done I put in 13.15 miles. So what does a midwest runner wear during a cold morning run.

Here is the run down:

Nike compression shirt for a base layer.

Nike long sleeve dry fit shirt.

Fleece lined cycling jacket, low tech.

Neoprene fronted cycling tights

Defeet socks and Brooks Adrenaline trail shoes.

Mizuno gloves and mittens

Balaclava style hat

Sunglasses for the snow glare.

It was a perfect outfit. I was very comfortable the entire time and didn't over heat or feel cold. Now if my hip will just co-operate and get better.

Sunday was a swim clinic that my coach held at the local fitness center. Angela was a collegiate swimmer and is an 8 time IM finisher. Last year she did IM MOO and IM FLA after having her first child in March. She's awesome.

Well the swim session started at 7:00Am for two hours. TriSaraTops was there and was looking good in the pool. I needed Angela to look at my swimming and pick it apart. I shared a lane with Scott (above) and Paula since we were about the same speed. Even Scott and Paula had good things to say and pointed out some areas for improvement.

In a nutshell Angela only had two things to comment on, head and leg position. I am relaxing my head too much and letting it drop so that I am submerging/diving under the water. I need to tip my head up just a little. My legs are splitting apart during my breathing stroke. This opens a gap, drops the legs and produces drag. Keeping the head in proper alignment and the legs close together creates a tube or tunnel that you travel through, reducing drag. I've learned to keep my legs close together during my kick. A good way to work on this is to make contact with your thighs, calves or ankles just slightly. That gap doesn't open up, except when I breath.

Wow. I'm very happy with my swim then. Angela said that she was being picky about my stroke but that is what I wanted to hear. I wanted to know that my swimming is solid and I only have slight things to work on. What's the next step up from shark?

It was great to see so many warriors in the pool this morning and I think everyone learned something about their swimming.

Friday, February 17, 2006

To give me something to blog I'm going to start submitting certain topics on certain days. Let's see how long this lasts.

So here is my first installment of Family & Friends Fridays. This is where I introduce those around me that I will classify as Team IMEric. Supportive family, training friends, neighbors, etc.

So of course number one has to be my wife Aimee. We've been married for 9 years and I see many more in the future. I don't doubt that we will hit 50 years together. We have so much in common and are able to share so many experiences together that this ride is so fun.

The picture explains why we go good together. Aimee has become quite an athlete herself over the years. It was her desire to start running that got me back into running. So far she is two marathons up on me, I have none, and has done every triathlon distance that I have done. In 2004 we both trained for the Great Buckeye Challenge Half IM. We shared some great training that summer. The picture is from 2005 when we raced at Buckeye Lake State Park. I was racing an Olympic distance triathlon series and she would do the sprint duathlon at each race. This one in particular was great because Aimee rode out on the course during my run to cheer me on. Afterwards she told me how she was passing two other women and one commented "there's a real runner", referring to Aimee. Aimee may not feel like an athlete but she is in my books. She has done alot in the past several years and I am proud of her.

For 2006 she wants to back off from her training to help me with my IM training. Of course backing off means a spring half-marathon and a fall full marathon. But she is still being the most supportive spouse I could have ever asked for. She really helped me weather the Perfect Storm recently.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

I had an overnight trip for work and was worried about my workouts. I was supposed to lift Wednesday night but opted to do that work Thursday morning. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do but as I passed the exercise room I noticed some free weights. A set of dumbbells for me to use. Things were falling in place. So I got up early this morning and did my psuedo lisft session with much success. After I drove home I did a 1 hour ride with some cool variety:15 minute warm-up1:30 in aero with big gears/low RPM1:30 standing with big gears/low RPM1:30 high spin cadence, I was aove 100 RPM1:30 easy recovery spinThis was repeated six timesFinish the hour.

It was definitely a good ride.

I had a couple people ask about my swimming and such. I am going to wait on that topic until Sunday afternoon. Sunday morning my coach is having a swim clinic for her athletes, she also had some open slots. This 2 hour session will be all about form, technique and drills. Really looking forward to it, so I will post an update about what she sees.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Yes it's Wednesday and we are all that much closer to another weekend of workouts. I'm away from home for work recently and the workouts are a little lighter. But I started the week strong with a great lift on Monday and awesome swim on Tuesday morning. I had some great race pace intervals holding a 1:35 average pace for 100 yards. Everytime I have a good swim workout I am amazed that three years ago I was struggling with my swim. No control of breathing, bad form, etc. But working with various coaches and group swims with friends has really made a difference. I truly enjoy going to the pool and look forward to a hard workout.

Just wanted to make sure everyone is seeing my updates on my blog. I've added a link to my TrainingPeaks profile page. My coach has started us on TrainingPeaks for providing our workouts and entering workout results. Very cool website with lots of information. Still figuring things out and deciding what details to provide.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Before I recap my weekend, I want to clarify that Yes, Bolder is an equal opportunity blogger. His pictures of a buff Michael Phelps and U2 (one of my wifes fav groups) were on his blog along with the previously mentioned hotties. I was by no means dissin' one of my favorite bloggers. Peace and love to my ubersexual triathlete friend.

Friday was a nice rest day to set me up for two long training sessions. Saturday I had a double run on the calendar. The morning session was 2 hours of flat to rolling terrain. Aimee and I started at Station Road in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This is my favorite starting point for the valley because I always hit my ulitmate favorite Old Carriage Trail. After my first 50 minutes in Zone 2 I needed to pick up my pace to Zone 3 for 10 minutes then back into Zone 2 for 50 minutes, finish in Zone 3 for the final 10 minutes. The workout was perfect, except my HR monitor wants to record my HR at 240 for the first 10 minutes of my run, frustrating.

Regardless the run was awesome 12.8 miles on the best trail in the valley.

Coach follows the philosophy the runs over 2 hours break the body down too much. So she sets me up with a 30 minute run in the evening. This was a zone 2 run which I managed to to negative split by 30 seconds. 4 miles at a 7:30 split. I was on fire.Pretty much went to bed watching the Olympics. Had to wait for some good skating to come on, 5000 meter speed skating. Those guys go fast. 5k in 6:14.Chad Hedrick is amazing and it will be exciting to watch him skate 4 more events in the next two weeks.

Sunday morning I had a brick workout. 2 hours on the bike with 4 x 10 pushes in a big gear. After the ride, a 40 minute Zone 2 run with the final 10 minutes in Zone 3. Another perfect workout with me hitting almost everything on the mark.

So tired and sore legs to deal with but hopefully I can get a quick massage in on Tuesday. On a side note, the weather in Cleveland was low 20's all weekend. Had some snow to run in sunday morning. Thing is I love running outdoors. This cold weather is making me stronger and ready for anything once spring comes around.

Friday, February 10, 2006

My wife has always told me to be fair with my e-mails. The women in my office are the minority and she feels bad for them, so she forwards me pictures that would be best appreciated by the ladies. With Bolders recent rash of hottie pictures I figured it would only be fair to post something for the ladies out there. They may not be tri hunkies but I hope it evens the playing field.

Now I may not be the ubersexual that Bolder is, but I have no problem posting this picture.

How about a recap of this weeks training, I haven't talk about triathlon all week.

Monday morning at the Y was 3000 yards straight at a good pace. Coming off some downtime I felt great holding a 1:40/100 yard pace. My fastest 1000 was 16:30.

Monday night I had a good lift session at the Y. I had to skip the lunges because my ankle was bothering me. After my lift I had a scheduled massage with the mistress of pain, Diane. She truly makes it hurt so good. My muscles really need to work she gives them. Turns out the ankle was tender from a tight muscle that runs up my calf. Go figure.

Tuesday was another swim session (3100 yards) and bike drills in the evening (8x1:00 single leg).

Wednesday was an off day due to committments and the perfect storm. So no lifting session that evening.

Thursday morning I skipped my swim because the stress from the prior days was workout enough. By the evening I was doing better and hit the treadmill for an interval workout (3x5:00 around marathon pace, 7:15s). I felt great coming off the treadmill. It's not the typical hard speed workout I was used to last year with my 10k training. This was the long haul endurance workout needed for a marathon or IM.

Friday is rest day. So here we are entering the weekend with a 2 hour run on Saturday and a Sunday Brick (2 hour ride/40 minute run).

Thursday, February 09, 2006

So the perfect storm hit me last night as the trilogy came together; Family, Work, Training.

Family has been stressful as we deal with several issues that just puts that extra bit of pressure on a person.

Work is frustrating dealing with indecisive customers that leave you hanging trying to schedule your work.

Training was quickly breaking down the body as the intensity increases before tapering for the Shamrock Marathon.

I told IronWil the other day that I understood her wave theory as I felt like I was in the pipe of my own wave feeling the water on my back. Little did I know that this wave was being formed by the perfect storm and the triology would be surfing this wave down my back.

Aimee told me she was worried about me and the stress she saw. It's nice to have someone watching you for the warning signs. I told her I could feel it and wanted to talk about it later that night. After dinner, no TV, no laptop, no distractions.

I had taken my daughter to a counseling session where we each had time with her doctor and learned some things, at least I did. I had to take care of some business, and it had to be taken care of NOW.

After dinner, catfish nuggets (YUMMY), Aimee and I sat on the couch to talk. Aimee knew I had something to say. She knew I would eventually get it out. She knew to be patient with me.

Then the storm hit and the wave had me in it's current. All said and done I was scared. So much hit at the same time and it was out of control. I tried not to reveal it all, but I revealed everything. I wanted to be successful, but I was failing. The trilogy kept surfing me under the wave not letting me get a breath of air.

So what happens when the storm hits? You cry....hold....talk....listen....console....express your love, you support the one you love. Aimee did all of those things. I am grateful to have not only a wife but an Ironmate.

In the middle of this storm I realized that my family is the most important part of my life. With work it is hard to control other people so you have to go with the flow. Training helps keep you physically fit with some psychological benefits.

What did I really need to be scared of? Loosing my family is really the only thing. This Ironman part of my life will conclude on July 23rd. I may or may not do another. But I do know that I am not afraid of Ironman. He better be afraid of me. I will not reveal myself to him. I will swim, bike and run below his radar. Then all of a sudden during the last 100 yards, Ironman will see me and admit defeat.

The ones I love are what really matter. Aimee is already made of Iron as she helps me with the IM journey. My daughter Amanda is trying to forge herself into the Iron person she will become and will have my love supporting her forever. My son Andrew is at college becoming an Iron man in his own right as he continues to learn and grow.

All I know is that with my family and friends supporting me during this IM trek, I will have nothing to be scared of. I welcome the support everyone will provide and will return it twice fold.

Sidenote: Blogger Donkey Sucks. I had "saved" this post as a draft and the Blogger Donkey decided to not save the text. So I had to remember as much of the original as I could. I think the first version was better.

Have a good one people. And if you run into that perfect storm yourself, put up a flare because there are many of us that will toss out a line to help.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Without a good sense of humor we run the risk of driving yourself nuts. Case in point: Aimee and I were at the store buying wings for the Superbowl Game. I gave her two options regarding flavors and she couldn't decide. At the time it was frustrating. I was getting a little irritated. Then we walked no more than 10 feet down the aisle and found a better deal and better flavors. How stupid was I getting POed just 10 seconds ago.

It's just one of those times when you look back and realize that a silly little thing like chicken wing flavors just isn't worth getting your underwear in a bunch over.

Remember to not sweat the small sh$t.

So I managed to get a good amount of rest in the past several days. I took full rest days on Wednesday and Friday. I also did an easy spin on Thursday, very easy, not even in one of my training zones.

My coach switched my long run to Saturday and brick to Sunday for the weekend. She wants me running on fresher legs until the Shamrock Marathon. The long run was 1:45 in some rainy weather. Nice 12.6 mile route.

Saturday to Sunday the weather in Cleveland got colder and the snow started to come down. My brick turned into a long trainer ride, 1:45, since I didn't want to run in the sloppy slush. I rented American Flyers since it was fresh on my mind from Buckeye Runner. I had never seen this movie and it made for a great ride.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

So Aimee and I went to bed early last night. We both have been dragging pretty bad lately. I think it was lights out by 9:30 last night. Alarms didn't go off till 6:00AM. 8.5 hours of blissful sleep. Feeling better today and tomorrow is also a sleep in day. In bed early again tonight.

That's what I feel like I should be doing. Hibernating. The new HR zones are taking their toll on my body. I also did a hilly two hour run on Sunday that broke down my body pretty good. I need to stock up on sleep, but home and work are keeping me up.

Coach told me to take it easy, recovery week, so the body could absorb the intense training. No problem there. Monday evening lift was with lighter weights and no legs at all.

Tuesday morning swim went like this:

Up at 5:00, pool by 6:15. Warm up felt fine. Actually had a talk with the pool.Eric: So where has everyone been?Pool: Don't know. They don't line up like they used to. Haven't seen Sidestroke Jim in a long time.E: I know what you mean. I've had the pool to myself alot lately.P: I haven't seen TriSaraTops in a while.E: She has been sick lately, Dr. told her to rest and get over a bronchial pneumonia bug.P: Ouch. That must hurt. I know she has been training hard lately. She has a nice flip turn.E: Sure does. Despite the will to train she has been listening to her blog friends and is taking it easy.P: That's good. I'll be here for her when she is ready to come back. Not like I'm going anywhere.P: Shouldn't you get started with your main sets?E: Yup, chat in a bit.

I had 4 sets of 300, 200, 100 to get done. Last time I did this I had a great swim.

I was struggling this time. Bad form, no concentration, slow times, blah.

P: What are you doing?E: Swimming.P: Well you are not doing it very well. What's up?E: I just don't have it today. P: Well your 300 build got slower with each 100 and your negative 200 was actually a positive.E: I know. The watch doesn't lie. Feeling a little tired. I'm going to stop, okay?P: That's fine. I hate seeing you swim like that, kindof ugly. Get some rest then come back. You need a break. I don't want you ending up sick like Sara. I get bored just sitting here, and to tell you the truth, pool bobbers are boring. All they do is talk during class, oh but the things I could tell you about.........E: I don't need to hear any of that. I'm out. See ya later.

So I just plain stopped. I wasn't going to waste my time with a poor workout. Mentally had to get away from it.

So I may have to hibernate for a little while. Lay off the computer while at home and get horizontal. My body is definitely talking to me as well.

So is my bed.....I hear it calling now.......but I'm at work........oh sweet slumber.....ZZZZZZZZZZZ